Families hit by the passport crisis are being asked to pay £55 extra a person to save their summer holidays.

With passport staff struggling to clear a backlog of half a million applications, holidaymakers and business travellers face losing costly trips abroad.

Officials are now offering to fast-track their documents for £55.50 on top of the £72.50 standard fee.

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Tens of thousands of applications wait to be processed at the Liverpool passport office, one of seven around the country. The picture was taken by a disillusioned staff member

Waiting game: Stacks of passport applications wait to be processed in Liverpool, and with passport staff struggling to clear a backlog, holidaymakers and business travellers face losing costly trips abroad

Angry
families said they were being held to ransom. And in stormy exchanges in
the Commons, Theresa May was accused of complacency. MPs told the Home
Secretary their constituents were panicking at the prospect of not being
able to travel.

Audrey
Strong, 67, from Timsbury, near Bath, said her 94-year-old mother paid
the levy to be able to go on a cruise. She added: ‘They’re holding
people to ransom. It’s disgusting – I don’t think she should have to pay all that money, but she did it because she would have lost her holiday otherwise.’

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Parents already pay a premium during school breaks because travel firms, airlines and hotels raise prices. And if a family of four wanted to ensure they had passports in time they would have to pay an extra £222 –the cost of the four-hour collection service.

Mrs May played down the problems, insisting the vast majority of applicants were receiving their passports in time.

But David Hanson, Labour immigration spokesman, said: ‘It is clear Theresa May is now burying her head in the sand and ignoring the overwhelming evidence of families across the country suffering delays, stress and heartache over their summer holidays and trips abroad. ****

The Home Secretary has dismissed fears of a passport crisis - but insisted she was not 'complacent'

Britain's border controls have veered from one crisis to the next. Following revelations that not all visitors were being checked a clamp down was ordered - resulting in giant queues at border controls. Now the Passport Office is under pressure to issue documents in time to let families travel

‘Each day that passes is throwing up more passport headaches.

‘People
across the country need to know when the Government first knew about
this crisis, how many people are impacted and what they’re doing to
solve it.’

The Passport Office said it had processed 300,000 more applications in the first five months of this year than in 2013.

SERVICE PLAGUED BY STRIKES, FRAUDS AND HI-TECH HITCHES

The backlog crisis is only the latest in a string of problems to hit the Passport Office over recent years.

In 2008, workers responsible for interviewing applicants, processing and issuing passports went on strike for three days.

The action by 2,900 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union, angry over below inflation pay rises, was timed to coincide with the summer getaway. The union estimated the strike resulted in a backlog of as many as 150,000 passport applications.In 2001, holidaymakers faced delays in renewing their passports when 15 staff were suspended in a major fraud probe. And in 1999, at least 500 holidaymakers missed their travel departure dates following problems at the then Passport Agency when a new computer system left it unable to issue passports on time.

It cost the taxpayer £12million, including compensation exceeding £161,000 and a further £6million spent on staff overtime.

Someone who has lost money after being forced to cancel a holiday because of passport delays is highly unlikely to be able to seek compensation.

The Passport Office’s general advice is: ‘Don’t book travel arrangements until you have received your passport.’

Echoing this statement, the Home Office says that processing times are ‘guidance, not a guarantee’.

Immigration minister James Brokenshire said 3.3million travel documents had been issued – the highest number for 12 years.

Paul Pugh, the passport agency’s chief executive, will go before the
Commons home affairs committee next week. He has said the improving
economy has increased demand for passports.

Keith Vaz, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, said: ‘I have been
inundated with letters from people saying they have been waiting and
waiting for their passport. This could not be happening at a worse time.

‘It’s a no-brainer during the summer months, people tend to want to go
on holiday and therefore they find out their passports need to be
renewed. I think the public expect much better.’

The Home Office website advises it takes three weeks to renew a passport
or obtain one for a child. For a new adult passport, it usually takes
six weeks.

But some travellers have complained it is taking up to 16
weeks.Challenged over the crisis during the Queen’s Speech debate at
Parliament, Mrs May insisted the Passport Office was meeting its targets
despite unprecedented demand.

She rejected claims the service was at risk of breaking down and said resources had been increased.

Despite the rush in new applications and renewals, 97 per cent of
standard applications had been dealt with within the three-week target,
she claimed.

The Home Office said the Passport Office has redeployed more than 200
staff – some from anti-fraud duties – to frontline operations. It has
also boosted the number of call centre staff from 350 to 1,000.

Passport offices are now working from 7am to midnight every day in a bid to clear the backlog.

Mrs May added: ‘We are not complacent about this issue, we are
continuing to look to see if there are further contingency measures that
need to be put into place.’

The PCS union has threatened strike action unless the management
addresses the backlogs as well as pay and conditions at the agency.

The Passport Office recorded a surplus of £72.9million in 2012-13.

Doomed to miss my brother's wedding

Holly Hadri is grounded in Dubai without a passport and fears she will miss her brother’s wedding.

The mother of two is originally from Cardiff but lives in the United Arab Emirates with her husband Salim, 33, an IT project manager.

The 31-year-old is due to give birth this week and needs to apply for a passport for the baby. But she is still waiting for her own passport to be renewed after sending it off six weeks ago – and without that, her infant application will not be processed.

Holly Hadri, pictured with her sons Isaac and Aden, is due to give birth this week and needs a passport for her baby - but she is still waiting for her own passport to be renewed and could miss her brother's wedding

Mrs Hadri fears she will not be able to obtain the passports in time for her brother’s wedding in Belfast on August 23.

She contacted the Passport Office on Friday, but staff were unable to trace her application. She said: ‘Friends of mine are waiting between 8 and 16 weeks. All in all it looks like my family will miss my brother’s wedding. To say that I am upset is an understatement.’

Rory Pattinson looks set to miss out on a romantic break away thanks to the chaos. The 23-year-old applied to renew his passport via the Post Office check-and-send service on April 29 – seven weeks before he was due to set off.

Now, just days before he is to fly to Turkey on June 20, he still has no idea when it will come. He said: ‘They told me it would take three weeks, so I thought I had applied in plenty of time.’

Mr Pattinson, a security guard from Worcester, agreed to pay £55 to fast-track the process on Friday. He was told a courier would deliver the passport on Monday, but it did not appear. He said: ‘My girlfriend and I will lose £700 if we are forced to give up our holiday. It’s a complete nightmare.’

Eileen Shepherd (left) missed her £1,700 holiday after bureaucratic delays over sending the Passport Office her signature, while Rory Pattinson (right) looks set to miss out on a romantic break away thanks to the chaos

Eileen Shepherd had to miss her £1,700 holiday after bureaucratic delays over sending the Passport Office her signature.

The 67-year-old retired nurse from Darlington, County Durham, only realised her passport was about to run out after booking the trip for May 24.

She filled out an online application on April 17, but was unable to print the vital form to record her signature.

She twice called the Passport Office, who agreed to post one – but after it did not arrive she visited the Passport Office in Durham in person.

She was stunned to be told she was not allowed to apply in person because her details were already in the system.

After pleading with officials, they agreed to scrap the application so she could do it face-to-face.

But instead of an appointment she received a form.

She sent it by special delivery, but although it was signed for the next day, officials claimed not to have received it until four days later.

On May 20, Mrs Shepherd agreed to pay extra to fast track the application – but it still did not arrive in time.

She is now considering legal action, adding: ‘I tried every which way. They had seven weeks. The friend I was going with had to go all by herself.’